Heart Surgery
Extensive surgical options for keeping your heart healthy
The heart surgeons at Novant Health offer an extensive range of surgical options for repairing your heart, from routine open heart bypass surgery to less invasive procedures that reduce your hospital stay and speed your recovery.
Excellence in heart surgery
The Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute is recognized by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for having one of the nation's top cardiac surgery programs. We consistently receive the American Heart Association Gold Plus rating for our outstanding dedication to improving quality of care for cardiovascular patients and reducing recovery times and hospital readmissions.
Pioneers of less invasive surgery
Our heart surgeons are pioneering less invasive procedures so more patients can recover faster with less pain, blood loss or risk of infection, scarring or readmission. Novant Health was among the first in the country approved to offer transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).
World-class facilities and staff
Our heart surgery programs include dedicated operating suites, intensive care and intermediate care units in some of the nation’s safest hospitals, along with critical care nurses specially trained in caring for cardiac surgery patients.
Open Heart Surgery
Routine, Hospital-Based Procedures
During open-heart surgery your surgical care team cuts through your sternum and separates your ribs so they can reach your heart and/or connecting vessels. These are routine surgeries with low risk of complications but are major operations that require a hospital stay of a week or more. Depending on your health, it may be your best option.
This may be your best option for treating coronary artery disease when medication and lifestyle changes are no longer effective and less-invasive procedures won’t work as well. It is among the most common open-heart surgeries performed.
In some instances, open surgery may be the most effective way to prevent larger aortic aneurysms from rupturing.
This involves using a patch or sutures to close a hole between the walls of the upper, or atrial, chambers of the heart. It is usually performed on a child by the age of 5 and may eliminate the need for future surgery or medications related to the defect.
If you experience cardiogenic shock, we can use extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to divert your blood to a heart-lung machine so your heart and lungs can heal. If you need long-term circulatory support due to advanced heart failure, we can implant ventricular assist devices (VAD).
Open surgery may be the only or the best way to remove tumors and other masses in your heart and blood vessels that can obstruct blood flow.
If you have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, your care team may recommend this surgery, during which a surgeon uses a scalpel to remove (resect) the part of your heart wall obstructing blood flow to the aorta.
Less Invasive Surgeries
Fewer Risks, Faster Recovery
If you need surgery to treat heart valve disease or arterial fibrillation, your surgeon may consider whether you are a good candidate for a less invasive procedure. Because they don’t involve opening your chest, they reduce blood loss and risk of infection, enable you to leave the hospital sooner and recover faster with less pain and scarring.
This catheter-based procedure is often the first step your provider will take when medication becomes ineffective in treating atrial fibrillation. It involves using heat or cold to create scars in the atria to block electrical signals that cause A-fib.
Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) is a less invasive procedure used to repair mitral valve leakage caused by a congenital heart defect.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) is a less invasive catheter-based treatment for those with narrowing of the heart valve. During the procedure, a wire mesh valve gets inserted into the heart through an artery in the chest or leg.